What do the pretty colors indicate?

[Khym50]

Hello! I'm new to bullet casting. I've been buying lead scrap from the local junkyard, melting it in a Lee pot and pouring it into an assortment of Lee molds. Fun! From the last batch of scrap I purchased I'm noticing that the slag at the top of the pot is sometimes varying shades of purple or blue. What does this indicate about the scrap I'm using, if anything?

[Bent Ramrod]

Oxidation. It seems to me that generally the bluer the color the closer to pure lead the alloy is. However, your heat setting, fluxing rate and even stirring could influence this.

Oh, and welcome to the site, and the hobby.

[mikeym1a]

The pretty blue and other colors are from getting the lead too hot. Just cool the pot a bit, and put some flux in, and it should return to normal. Did the same thing myself. :-)

[Wayne Smith]

If you have pink and purple and blue you may have something close to pure lead!

[osteodoc08]

The beauty of oxidized near pure lead. Like a Sonoran desert sunset.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Welcome to the "Mental Illness" called boolet casting. It becomes very addictive!Robert

[Echo]

And if you get any gold color, Yes, you are too hot, but the gold is Tin oxide, a good thing. Flux w/sawdust, and the oxygen will leave the tin for the carbon in the sawdust, and the tin will go back into the melt.